Integrated circuits are what power many of today's consumer electronics. Integrated circuits can be found in cellphones, video cameras, portable music players, computers, and even automobiles. As customer demand improves integrated circuit (IC) performance, faster, more reliable, and higher-density circuits, need to be produced. Various techniques, such as, stacked die packages and multi-chip modules (MCM), have been developed to meet the continued demands for improving system performance. Commonly, these package structures are formed with a mold configuration on the top side and/or the bottom side of a package to provide protection.
With the advent of three-dimensional packaging, these mold configurations have evolved to allow protection of an underlying package while permitting vertical integration of additional packages or devices formed thereover. As demand continues towards a higher density of integrated circuits within a package, vertical integration has necessitated the need for the protective mold configurations to be formed adjacent electrical solder ball pad sites. Some common examples of a protective mold configuration adjacent an electrical solder ball pad pattern include package-on-package and fan-in package-on-package designs.
Frequently, these packages have a very short mold to solder ball pad clearance. Consequently, the solder ball pad sites adjacent the mold are commonly invaded by mold flash. Unfortunately, mold flash can obscure the solder ball pad site, which can lead to poor of failed electrical interconnections. These electrical interconnect inconsistencies can cause unacceptable package yields and unacceptable device failures upon integration into consumer products. Needless to say, such inconsistencies can also increase production costs.
Thus, a need still remains for a reliable integrated circuit package system and method of fabrication, wherein the integrated circuit package system does not suffer from mold flash that obscures adjacent electrical patterns. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, increasing consumer expectations, and diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. Moreover, the ever-increasing need to save costs, improve efficiencies, and meet such competitive pressures adds even greater urgency to the critical necessity that answers be found to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.